What is IMCA?

IMCA, established in 1990, is the association of pharmaceutical companies committed to the use of macromolecular crystallography as a tool in drug discovery and product development. Through a managing contract with Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, IMCA supports the operation and development of the IMCA-CAT facility at sector 17 of the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. The IMCA member companies are: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer.

What is IMCA-CAT?

IMCA-CAT is a structural biology research facility for pharmaceutical drug discovery programs. It was established in 1992 to design, build, and operate a research facility at the Advanced Photon Source, a high energy synchrotron X-ray source at Argonne National Laboratory. Today, IMCA-CAT operates a state-of-the-art insertion device beamline for confidential and proprietary macromolecular crystallography experiments. To meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry, IMCA-CAT is optimized for high-throughput data acquisition, is committed to generating the highest quality X-ray diffraction data, provides reliable access for proprietary research, ensures maximum efficiency, and invests in the facility to remain at the technical forefront for pharmaceutical research in structural biology.

Who can use the IMCA-CAT beamline?

Access to the IMCA-CAT facility is available to all researchers in structural biology to collect X-ray diffraction data on macromolecules.

Pharmaceutical member companies of IMCA are scheduled for weekly proprietary data collection throughout each operating cycle.

Academic researchers are invited to conduct non-proprietary experiments at the beamline via the APS User Program.

Why is IMCA-CAT an important resource for pharma companies?

Discovery and lead optimization phases of drug development are accelerated with high-throughput data acquisition at IMCA-CAT. Automated sample mounting, diffraction rastering for high-precision sample centering, and shutterless continuous-rotation data collection distinguish IMCA-CAT as an outstanding research environment for confidential and proprietary structural biology programs in the pharmaceutical industry.

What types of experiments can be accomplished?

Structural studies of the most challenging complexes, including membrane proteins, small crystals, and radiation-sensitive samples, benefit from advanced beamline capabilities. Fragment screening high-throughput demands are met with fully automated and fast processes for data acquisition. On-the-fly structural analyses are enabled by high-speed, secure, and encrypted data transfer to off-site locations for integrating with company-based pipelines.

Our professional staff ensure that the IMCA-CAT facility performs to the highest standards for quality, reliability, efficiency, and productivity, while providing outstanding service for data acquisition, comprehensive security for confidentiality and protection of proprietary data, and expert support for challenging experiments.

IMCA-CAT partners with the pharmaceutical industry members of IMCA to drive innovation and sustain cutting-edge operations, thereby distinguishing the beamline as a cost-effective and world-class facility for pharmaceutical research.

IMCA-CAT, in partnership with Hauptman-Woodward Institute, is committed to providing a world-class macromolecular crystallography research facility for structural biology, aiming to accelerate pharmaceutical drug discovery.